In the past days i have had many people talk to me about how it becomes a virtual ordeal for them to study for out of course related stuff like GRE and MS etc - in the face of so many distractions like heavy courseload, distractions from friends, movies, alcohol, girlfriends, boy friends, etc. These are all things which are probably being faced by a lot of aspirants all over the globe. And these are by no means trivial issues, i mean dealing with your friends -saying no to them for a movie - can be a very tough task. If you are working and have a girl friend - then spending time away from her studying for your GRE can be tough. But one thing to remember is that in life there are choices to be made. At every step, you have the choice of watching that cricket match with friends or using the precious little time that you have to solidify your vocab. It doesnt always have to be the case where you have to give up stuff. For example, you could just as well watch the cricket match, if you promise to cut down on say, the TV show you watch - so that you can give enough time to your GRE preparation. Time management - as they say - is the key. And along with time management, the will power within you - the discipline is also important.

If you decide to learn 30 new words everyday - you should make it a point that you learn 30 everyday. Do not try to think like if you learn 40 today, you can learn 20 tomorrow - 30 means 30. Its times like these which seem like a bottle neck to living a life of peace and contentment - but its these times wherein you can prove your worth and prove to people that you deserve the best and will not stop short of getting what you deserve. As Swami Vivekananda said -

“Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life - think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success, that is way great spiritual giants are produced.”

Its the amount of heat and pressure which changes a coal to a diamond.

Some of the techniques that have worked for people in the past have been - to identify the number of hours you have in a day wherein you can put in effort - see where you spend a lot of non-fruitful hours and find out if there is a way to reduce the hours you spend there. Adequate sleep is important so make sure that you spend enough sleep hours. Time for personal health, hygene and food is also important. Rest of the stuff has to be sorted based on importance. Once you are done with important milestones, then you can start to refactor other things into your schedule that you had to give up. Like giving up 1 or 2 outings during the week for GRE preparation seems reasonable - you can always get back to the party scene after you are done with the GRE. Good friends will always understand that you have a goal and you are striving towards it.

It sometimes tough to juggle so much at one time, but then, who said life was easy! You cant change the hand you are dealt, only how you play it! So, play with fun, ethusiasm and try to make a few friends along the way. It is good to study in groups sometimes, that way you keep each other motivated. Study groups have proved very useful for MS in the US for many many people across the years. If you dont have friends who are preparing for GRE/MS in your college - dont worry - you always have kaaledge.com - we try to be your friends on you path to success

Note: The picture in this post have been taken from the New York times article (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/30/business/worldbusiness/30college.html?_r=1&oref=slogin)